In traditional Chinese medicine, there are several ways for reducing flatulency and hematoma that cause discomfort at different body areas. These ways are generally divided into warm moxibustion, thermocautery stick, acupuncture with moxibustion, and heated suction cup, and are normally therapeutically effective in rehabilitation.
In warm moxibustion, sliced ginger is positioned over a patient's skin at an uncomfortable area, and moxa is positioned on the sliced ginger and ignited to produce heat, which advantageously reduces hematoma or waste gas inside the patient's body to achieve therapeutic effect in rehabilitation. The warm moxibustion must be handled and controlled by a doctor of Chinese medicine or a professional person to avoid burning of skin by the ignited moxa.
Thermocautery stick is frequently used in Chinese medicine to reduce hematoma. In doing so, the thermocautery stick is ignited and located over a patient's skin at an uncomfortable area with a proper distance left between the stick and the patient's skin. The ignited thermocautery stick must not contact with the patient's skin during the therapy. Again, the thermocautery stick must be handled and controlled by a doctor of Chinese medicine or a professional person to avoid burning of skin by the ignited thermocautery stick that is too closely positioned over the patient's skin.
In acupuncture with moxibustion, a needle is directly inserted into a patient's skin at an acupuncture point, so that energy is concentrated at the needle tip corresponding to the acupuncture point to thereby reduce the hematoma or waste gas. The acupuncture with moxibustion must absolutely be handled by a certified doctor of Chinese medicine. And, time control is also an important factor in acupuncture with moxibustion to achieve good therapeutic effect.
Suction cups used in Chinese medicine may be bamboo or wood suction cups, which are heated by roasting and then directly covered on a patient's skin at specific areas to diffuse or reduce hematoma thereof. Since the heated suction cup involves complicate operating procedures, it must be handled by a professional person, too.
All the above-described traditional therapies for rehabilitation in Chinese medicine employ heat transfer to expel waste gas and reduce hematoma from the patient's body. And, to obtain good therapeutic effect and avoid burning of skin or other undesired sequelae, it is a must these therapies be handled by a doctor or a professional person, particularly when the area to be treated is not easily accessible by the patient, such as the patient's back.
It is therefore tried by the inventor to develop a large-area and repeatedly usable thermocautery block that is able to store thermal energy after being roasted for a short time, and progressively release the stored thermal energy to produce progressive temperature rise and long-lasting thermocautery action, so that a user may conveniently handle the thermocautery block by himself in rehabilitation without the help of a professional person or a doctor.